Hello and welcome to chapter 25! Nothing to say, except I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own FOZ

Hiato stared at Sylphid, completely unsure what to do. The fact that Sylphid wanted to be his mate wasn't exactly something he'd ever thought would happen, or even think about full stop. He wasn't even sure if he should tell Louise. Unfortunately a certain dragon laughing his ass off wasn't helping Hiato concentrate.

"Could you please stop, I'm in the middle of a serious situation here." Hiato grumbled, unamused by his grandfather's roaring laughter.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Draggosh replied, still laughing. Hiato then looked at Sylphid and he suddenly found himself feeling very awkward. He was completely unsure what to do, despite the fact he needed to get the situation resolved as soon as possible. It was as if his brain was refusing to think of any logical solution to the problem, or rather it was being blocked out by something else. His entire body felt strange, and for some reason he was starting to forget about Louise.

"Get a hold of yourself right now." Draggosh snapped, suddenly serious. Hiato blinked before looking away and without thinking unfurled his wings and took off, flying towards the other dragons. Sylphid huffed in annoyance before following him. "Right. Hiato I need you to listen to me very carefully. You are currently in a very dangerous situation and need to be careful as to how you handle it." Draggosh instructed, confusing Hiato.

"Why are you suddenly so serious?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the older dragonoid's shift in tone.

"Do you want Louise to be heartbroken?"

Hiato's entire body convulsed for a second at that statement. Suddenly his brain started working at full speed again, and he shook his head violently. If he could, he'd be staring at his grandfather with shock and confusion. "What are you talking about?" Hiato demanded, now even more unsure of what exactly was going on.

"What I'm talking about is what your instincts are doing. She may not be a dragonoid, but she's a dragon which is close enough. Her body's giving off pheromones which is causing your brain to shut down and your instincts to take over. In short, she's basically trying to force you to mate with her." Draggosh explained, both shocking and confusing Hiato.

"Wait a second, how does that even work!?" He demanded.

"Dragonoids and dragons, when they want to mate, naturally release pheromones which are meant to trigger and encourage the more primal instincts in the opposite gender, more specifically the ones to mate. However 2 things affect how well they work, 1 the age of both dragons. Younger one's are more susceptible because they usually have very little to no control over their instincts, older ones not so much as they usually have managed to gain control of their instincts. The other factor is usually the relationship between the 2 dragons. If they hate each other, nothing will happen and vice versa. Unfortunately for you, since you've only recently gotten you're powers, your instincts are still very much out of control and since you are practically friends with Sylphid, its making the whole situation worse."

Hiato frowned. "Does Sylphid know this?" He asked, thinking over what his grandfather had explained.

"Probably not. The pheromones can't be released via conscience thought and they don't affect the person releasing them. Like for example, you've been releasing them every time you and Louise are alone together, and frankly enough it makes me a little sick really, but since Louise isn't a dragonoid she doesn't pick up on it. Thankfully you aren't releasing any right now, but even if you were Sylphid wouldn't be able to pick up on it since she's not a dragonoid."

"But she does have a human form." Hiato pointed out.

"That's different. She can do that because of magic, not because she's actually a human and a dragon genetically. Oh while I'm at it I should also explain something else: you're power isn't magic, its your life force. Basically meaning if anyone tries to drain your magical energy, it'd be like drawing water from an empty well. Back to what I was saying, if you enter dragon form and then start releasing the pheromones, THEN you're in big trouble."

"So what do I do?" Hiato asked.

"Pay as little attention to her as possible, and keep on thinking about Louise. Think about everything, from her hair, to her face, to the feel of her lips to the feel of her chest pressed aga-"

"SHUT UP!" Hiato snapped, blushing suddenly as all those thoughts rushed into his head, along with an idea where Draggosh was going with his sentence. The ancient dragon simply felt amused at Hiato's outburst. He's a little too easy to get to sometimes... He then turned serious again.

"But I'm being serious. No matter what, you have to ensure that you do NOT let your instincts get the better of you. Unfortunately there is a point past which I won't be able to stop you, so make sure you don't let it get to that point. Also do not show any sign of affection towards Sylphid, it will simply make the situation worse."

"Shouldn't we tell Louise?" Hiato asked.

"I'm going to now. Good luck with the dragons." And then he was gone. Hiato kept his eyes concentrated on the dragons, doing his best to ignore Sylphid. He didn't dare risk looking back, and realised he was practically fighting every second for control of his body. Bloody hell... why do I always have a hard time? He though to himself and realised that, for the first time in a while, he once again found himself hating the fact he was a Dragonoid. Sylphid flew closer and nudged him with her head. She noticed he'd been giving him a strange look earlier and then suddenly had taken off without saying anything. She wanted to know why, for some reason, she'd liked the look he'd given him. Of course there wasn't much about him she didn't like, despite not knowing much about him. He was strong, kind, handsome and a dragon just like her. It irked her that Louise of all people, the zero, could have such a great person love her.

Hiato shook when Sylphid nudged him and he shot forwards like a rocket before landing by the dragons. Sylphid once more huffed in annoyance before landing next to Hiato. One of the dragons came forwards and bowed its head to Hiato.

"Greetings. We thank you once more for you're aid in informing us of the humans plans to use us as tools and then throw us away." The dragon explained. All the others had turned to look at Hiato, and each one was giving him a look of respect.

"No need to thank me brother, I merely did as was required to help my own kind. Might I ask, are there more of your brothers and sister's who remain in Albion?" Hiato asked, relieved that Sylphid was both keeping a respective distance and the pheromones had stopped, for now anyway.

"Unfortunately yes. However, we are sure they will come to our side once we inform them of the truth." Another dragon said, this one a female. "We plan to do this as soon as possible, with your consent of course."

Hiato raised an eyebrow "Why is my consent necessary?" He asked.

"While you may not be from this world, you are still a dragon. More so than that, we can feel the ancient presence and power inside of you. We can feel you are one who deserves and is worthy of leading us dragons. Because of this, we will swear to follow you." Another dragon said, this one male. At once, all the dragons bowed their heads and spoke as one in a language that Hiato had never used or heard before, but understood perfectly.

"Mu dovah vaat naal un laas mu fen kiibok hi kotin grah, nid trun paal (We dragons swear by our life we will follow you into battle, no matter the foe)" They all chanted at once. Sylphids eyes went wide as she heard them speak. She'd never heard this language before, yet somehow understood it. Her eyes widened even more when Hiato responded in the same language.

"Hi zin zey zeymah ahrk briinah. Rinik pruzah, Zu'u eim Hi los vaat (You honour me brothers and sisters. Very well, I accept you're pledge)" Hiato responded, his voice sounding much deeper than it did previously, and it also sounded like a second voice was speaking at the same time. As one the dragon's raised their heads to look at Hiato. "Please be aware brothers and sister's that we will be fighting for the humans of this country against those of Albion. If you do not agree to this, I will release you from you're pledge now." Hiato said now in normal speech, confused as to how the words of the strange yet familiar and powerful language came so easily to him earlier.

"We do not fight for the humans. We fight for you. If you fight for the humans, so be it. If you do not, so be it. Even if we must face our own kind, those who remain in Albion, we will follow you at all times, Hiato Dragnoras." The dragons boomed in unison. Hiato's face turned to one of confusion.

"Dragnoras?"

"It's you're real surname. Higurashi was you're grandmothers surname and I asked her to use that for our daughters surname. My full name is Draggosh Favnir Dragnoras. Yours is Hiato Dragnoras." Draggosh suddenly chipped in.

"But wait... how did they know and I didn't?" Hiato asked, now confused to what his name really is.

"When you spoke in dragon tongue, they learnt your name. Just like you now know all their names. Also and in case you ask, every dragon and dragonoid knows that language instinctively and is capable of speaking it fluently after only a little practice. You spoke in it because you naturally responded to them speaking in it. Honestly I'm surprised that actually carried across dimensions, but also glad. They won't break that pledge because if they do, they'll be less than dragons, since doing so would be a horrible betrayal. Well if the same standards of honour apply in this universe that is." Draggosh explained. "I'd prefer you to refer to yourself with you're real surname from now on, Hiato Dragnoras."

Hiato blinked, suddenly feeling unsure and yet happy at the same time. He didn't really know how to handle learning he'd been using a fake surname his whole life. Well... I guess I'll just have to get used to it. Hiato thought to himself. He then returned his attention to the dragons in front of him.

"I thank you Gawaine. I will endeavour to lead you and your brothers and sisters to victory. I thank you all for having faith in me and allowing me to be your leader. May I make a request of you?" Hiato asked. "Of course." Gawaine, the dragon directly in front of him, replied.

"May Louise, my mate-" He shot a look at Sylphid "-and I train with you in preparation for the upcoming war?" He asked.

"We would be honoured to train with you Hiato." Gawaine replied. "My thanks." Hiato replied. "The human who leads the academy does not appreciate your presence here, brothers and sisters. Might I ask if you may move to a nearby mountain?" He asked.

"There is no need for you to ask. We will follow you're orders without you needing to ask us to do so, but we appreciate you asking us instead of ordering." All the dragon's nodded respectfully before they all took off, flying off towards the forest and presumably a mountain. Hiato turned around and looked at Sylphid.

"I want to get this cleared up. Louise is my mate and I've chosen her. I am asking you kindly to please leave me alone Sylphid." Hiato said sternly. Sylphid narrowed her eyes before sneaking forwards and rubbing her head against Hiato, causing him to freeze. Instinctively he wanted to rub her on the head, but his brain was screaming at his body not to do so. His hand slowly began moving upwards, slowly began reaching towards the rhyme dragon's head. He could feel his concious control slipping.

No get a hold of yourself! Think about Louise... think about Louise... think about Louise...

Hiato quickly filled his mind with thoughts of the girl he loved. He felt his hand stop moving, and managed to take a few steps back and shook his head before glaring at Sylphid. "I told you to stop it."

"Oh I get it now. You can't control you're instincts, that's why your acting so weird." Sylphids voice echoed inside his head. Hiato narrowed his eyes. "Which means if I can catch you off guard, your mine."

"I've told you once, and I'll tell you again, Louise is my chosen mate so Leave. Me. Alone." Hiato said.

"Fine I will. For now anyway." She said slyly. Before she could do anything Hiato opened his wings and took off towards the academy. Huffing, Sylphid followed him.

Hiato landed in the main courtyard where Louise, Tabitha and Kirche were waiting. The blue haired girl immediately dashed over to see how Sylphid was doing. Louise walked over and Hiato gave her a kiss before she could say anything. Kirche smiled at the affection between the two and walked over.

"Hey Hiato. Been a while hasn't it? I heard you were out cold for a week." She smirked. "You certainly are lazy aren't you?" She teased.

"Live it up, live it up, I'd just had an intense fight okay?" Hiato replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Not to mention did something incredibly stupid." Louise chipped in.

"Oh not you too." Hiato said, faking despair. "And besides, I thought it was well established by now I tend to do stupid shit."

"Clearly." Louise and Kirche said in unison. They then grinned at each other before laughing. Dear God what have I done... Hiato thought.

"Created your own personal hell?" Draggosh supplied.

"I guess. Oh did you tell her?"

"Yeah. She was not amused. She said 'if that dragon thinks she can take away the man I love then she is surely mistaken' in a very, VERY loud voice. Unfortunately this means the 2 won't be able to exist in a room without armed conflict erupting. Have fun with that."

Hiato paled. He did not want to imagine what would happen if Louise got angry and decided to have a fight with Sylphid. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. He then looked around and frowned.

"Where is everyone? Well more specifically all the guys?" Hiato asked.

"Oh haven't you heard? All the boys from the academy were conscripted into the army. The remaining students will still have lessons as usual though but we have to be ready to be called up at any moment." Kirche explained. Hiato frowned, not exactly sure using school boys as soldiers was a good idea. I could tell Henrietta I've got the dragon's on our- well my side and then have her send the boys back.

"I don't see the point in that. I've managed to get the dragons to agree to help me in the war and I may even get more to help. I could go ask Henrietta to send them back." Hiato explained. Kirche, Louise and Tabitha looked at him. "Really? How?" Kirche asked.

"I asked them basically. They promised to help me and that was it." Hiato said, remembering his promise to keep Draggosh's identity and presence a secret.

"I'm guessing it wasn't that hard." Kirche remarked.

"Not really. They really respect me after I told them about what the Order and the Reconquista wanted to do. And I got them to agree to train with me and Louise, which is awesome since I'll get a chance to train my powers better now." Hiato said, a smirk spreading across his face as he remembered he would start serious training soon.

"Good to hear." Louise commented. Hiato smiled at her and she smiled back. Louise then suddenly hurled a glare at Sylphid.

"Stay away from Hiato." She snapped. The dragon narrowed its eyes at the pink haired wizard.

"Make me." Sylphid replied. Louise and Sylphid then proceeded to have an intense staring match, prompting Hiato and Kirche to sweat drop.

"Oh right... well this is going to be fun." Hiato remarked dryly.

"We should do something before the academy gets destroyed." Kirche said.

"Tabitha! Could you please ask your dragon to leave before Louise tries to kill it?" Hiato asked the blue haired mage, who simply frowned at him. "Why?" She asked. Hiato sighed. "Because now your familiar wants to be my... mate and Louise doesn't like that idea nor do I so she's probably going to fight your dragon about it."

Tabitha's eyes widened. She then shot a look at Sylphid, who felt the glare and looked at her master. She bowed her head and turned around before flying off.

"Thanks Tabitha. Now if you could convince her to stay away from me all the time, that'd be great." Hiato said cheerfully. Tabitha turned to look at him.

And then she smiled.

Arthur looked down at the paper on his desk. He quickly signed it at the bottom, his name in large, extravagant cursive. He stood up from his desk and walked to the window. He looked out at the capital of Albion, his new headquarters. The next phase of his plan was starting now, and he couldn't resist smirking. Once it all fell into place, this world would fall to its knees in front of him.

"Soon... the ritual will be complete."

And that's the chapter! No there isn't going to be a love square between Hiato, Louise, Sylphid AND Tabitha. She's just going to become a good friend to Hiato, no romance at all. Also for the dragon Language bit, if you get where it comes from then you're awesome. If you don't, you're still awesome cause you read my story. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review telling me what you thought. Anyway thanks for reading and I will see you in the next chapter!

Cheerio!